This invention pertains to a floating dock unit and particularly to an improved integral construction of a floating dock unit achieved by the combined structural reinforcement of the dock understructure integrally secured to the flotation unit in combination with a diagonally secured deck.
Floating docks are known as shown in the following noted patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,629 which discloses a rectangular frame supporting a wood plank decking maintained afloat by blocks of flotation material; U.S. Pat. No. 4,316,426 which discloses longitudinal beams supporting decking consisting of transverse planks; U.S. Pat. No. 3,448,709 which discloses buoyant foam material supporting a lightweight concrete deck; U.S. Pat. No. 3,073,274 which discloses styrafoam floats supporting an understructure beam system and upper deck sections; U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,808 which discloses a floatable, strut reinforced hollow understructure supporting a deck; U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,515 which discloses a deck comprising transverse aluminum channels supported by a combination of beams; U.S. Pat. No. 3,283,517 which discloses a floating dock comprising deck and understructure supported by wheel-like rotational floats adapted to assist in moving the dock out of the water; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,924,191 which discloses modular sections supported by a beam type understructure.
It now has been found that a unibody construction comprising a longitudinal box beam understructure welded to a rigid flotation unit and supporting deck planking secured to the box beam on a diagonal with the longitudinal dimension of the box beam member eliminates the necessity for transverse reinforcing or bracing members for the dock understructure and further improves the overall strength and stability of the floating dock unit. The integral structure of the box beam and the flotation unit substantially increases the overall structural strength of the dock unit, minimizes torsional stress and strain, and resists vertical and horizontal bending movements. The diagonally secured deck planks further increase and reinforce the shear and torsional resistance of the dock unit. The dock units can further be pivotally interconnected linearly in tandem to provide a stabilized extended floating dock system. These and other advantages of this invention will become more apparent by referring to the drawings and the detailed description of the invention.